In the fast food industry, the preparation of deep fried food portions may be accomplished by placing an open mesh food basket in a conventional deep fryer, such as the Dean/ALCO Model 1414GTS Gas Fryer, manufactured by Dean Industries, Culver City, Calif. A typical food basket used in the industry is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,430,553, to DiPietro, at FIG. 4, reference no. 25, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,975,997, to DiPietro, at FIG. 4, reference no. 13 (both of these patents are herein incorporated by reference). Such conventional deep fryers contain a quantity of liquid, such as cooking oil, shortening, or water, which is heated to a required cooking temperature. The mesh design of typical food baskets permits easy entry of the heated liquid into the volume of the basket. For items such as french fried potatoes, the open mesh basket provides a sufficient means for preparation.
However, a currently popular type of deep fried food portions contains a coating of batter or breading which, as shown below, is not particularly suited for use with conventional mesh baskets. Small portions of a variety of food items, including but not limited to chicken, fish, shrimp, beef, and pork, may be dipped in a moist batter and deep fried, thus providing a cooked batter coating about the food. A conventional batter may consist primarily of flour, starch, baking powder, and sufficient quantities of water to obtain the thickness desired. When these batter-coated or breaded portions of food come into contact with the grids of the typical open mesh food basket, such as those illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,430,553 and 3,975,997, the batter may conform to the grids and adhere or "grip" thereto. Upon removal of the cooked portions of batter-coated food from the food basket, those sections of batter which "gripped" the grids of the basket remain stuck thereto, thus leaving part of the cooked portion of food exposed and bearing an undesirable appearance to consumers. For those food portions coated with breading, the ingredients comprising the breading, namely wheat starch, corn starch, sugar, salt, and leavening, may not be adequately contained within the typical open mesh food baskets. Consequently, the ingredients eventually settle to the bottom of the conventional fryer, and if they are not promptly removed, they facilitate the breakdown and colorization of the cooking liquid.
Currently, one manner in which deep fried, batter-coated food portions may be prepared for restaurants is in a multi-step, multi-location procedure. Initially, the food portions are deep fried at a central location, where they are then frozen. After the portions are transported to a specific restaurant, they remain frozen until preparation is required. The portions of food are then refried in the conventional deep fryer discussed above, and they are served to consumers. This process, if not properly followed, can result in the oil or shortening retained in the frozen food turning rancid. Additionally, the effect of double frying the food portions is to alter their natural tastes.
A natural effect of the preparation of deep fried food portions in the methods discussed above is the detachment of small particles from the food portions during cooking. Devices such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,430,443, 3,975,997, 2,635,527, to Overbeck, and 3,993,645, to Keramidas (also incorporated herein by reference), describe systems for keeping such particles from escaping into the main supply of heated liquid in which the food basket is immersed. However, none of the above-cited prior art references discloses a food basket which, in and of itself, accomplishes this goal.